Do you ever forget where you put something? Or start a project and for whatever reason, leave it and then totally forget you even started? On Sunday I was clearing through my laptop, deleting shit to make room for the endless food pictures which are (literally) eating up my hard disc space. I came across a handful of half-written blog posts, written in note form on various flights we took during our travels.
This one, about Fremantle Market, makes me feel particularly nostalgic and now I read it, I remember writing it clearly. Feeling sad about leaving Melbourne and trying to write with my laptop precariously balanced on those flimsy tray tables you get on low-cost airlines. I’ll hand over to my former self…
Started on 22nd March, somewhere over Australia’s Northern Territory. For romance, let’s say it was Alice Springs.
Back in October, we spent just shy of two weeks in and around ‘Freo’, a nice seaside town near Perth in Western Australia. That was at the very start of our Australian adventures and it feels like a lifetime ago now.
I’m writing this from the air. We’re currently on a flight from Melbourne, Australia to Penang in Malaysia. There is no in-flight entertainment and Dave is fast asleep so I thought I’d spend some time looking back over the last six months worth of photos. I came across the literally hundreds of pictures I took at Fremantle Market and realised that I’ve still not written about it.
So, despite being a little retrospective here goes…
Perth, unlike Melbourne, seems to be mainly made up of modern, purpose built stuff. There isn’t so much in the way of historic architecture and it gives the place a different feel, maybe more American and possibly a little dull. Fremantle was more interesting, however. With buildings dating back to 1830 and an almost ‘Westworld’ frontier town feel, there was more to excite the eye. There was also more opportunity for interesting food. Read my round-up here.
Fremantle Market is a great spot. Built in 1897 and still retaining pretty much all of its original charms, I loved it there and we spent a good few hours exploring all the gift, craft and food stalls there. Just walking around, you get a sense of history (unusual in W.A) and there is plenty to spend your money on and eat.
Of everything there, these were our two favourite things, both edible of course:
Takoyaki:
Dave had waxed lyrical to me about Takoyaki before. And I’m sure you can get it in the UK but personally, this was new to me. It’s a Japanese snack, little balls of octopus, onion and ginger cooked in a batter. They are often served topped with bonito flakes, mayonnaise and takoyaki sauce which is kind of a syrupy Worcestershire sauce.
It’s DELICIOUS. I loved it at first bite and when we got to Melbourne, continued to eat it at every opportunity. I got into a naughty habit of picking up four on a skewer for $2 from Tower Sushi at Flinders Street station whenever I went into CBD. Needless to say, the takoyaki we tried at Fremantle market was totally delicious.
Muffle:
Apparently, muffles are something of a craze now and it’s this humble little stall Muffle & Co, in Fremantle which started it off! We weren’t aware of that at the time but Dave was pretty impressed by this waffle/ice-cream concoction.
A muffle is a waffle made with ball shaped pockets all over it. The pockets are filled with treats and cooked. It’s then rolled into a cone and filled with things like fruit, ice cream, chocolate and nuts. Dave went for the Peanut Butter option which is filled with banana, peanut butter, soft serve ice-cream and caramel sauce. The pockets had peanuts inside them too! Heavenly!
Have you been to Fremantle? Did you visit the market? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Oh my god I want one of those muffles so bad..lol…I love a market in fact the first place I look for when traveling is to hit the market. I find them the place to discover the local food culture and get a taste of what the people like to eat and do. Adding this one to my to do list…
Teehee.. the muffle was good!! I totally agree re: markets when travelling too 🙂
Never tried Takoyaki or even heard of muffles! What kind of Aussie am I??? Nice post.
I think the muffle craze is quite new. As for Takoyaki! They sell it at most sushi places!! Shame on you (not really) 🙂
I’ve never been to Freemantle but appreciate learning about new foods… like Muffles! 😉 We love visiting the local markets when we travel – helps us learn so much about the places we visit!
Muffles definitely need to spread across the world! We love to visit markets too, such a nice way to learn more about a place and it’s foodie culture! Thanks for commenting 🙂
What a beautiful market!! Looks like so many goodies!
Oh dear god, I need muffles now! You know I loooove historical markets like this, where the modern day market is just full of fantastic food and drink to enjoy. So cool!